The Senate returned to Washington on Monday after a weeklong recess as Republicans prepared to advance a plan to fund Department of Homeland Security immigration agencies without Democratic support.
Last week, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees released legislative text to fund the department’s immigration enforcement through fiscal year 2029. The $72 billion package included more than $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $26 billion for Customs and Border Protection.
The bill also provided $1 billion to the Secret Service for “security adjustments and upgrades,” including support for the 90,000-square-foot East Wing Modernization Project at the White House. The project includes a ballroom and updated underground national security and health care facilities. The bill said the money could be used for “above-ground and below-ground security features.”
Trump announced the East Wing project last July. By October, the structure had been demolished, and the administration said the project was needed for security and for hosting large events. Trump renewed the push after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner late last month.
The project has been challenged in court. It was temporarily blocked in late March, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia allowed construction to resume last month. The next hearing is scheduled for June 5.
The White House welcomed the funding. “Congress has rightly recognized the need for these funds,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement.
“As President Trump has repeatedly said, the White House must be a safe and secure complex that generations of future presidents and visitors to the People’s house can enjoy,” Ingle said.
The bill stated that none of the funds could be used for nonsecurity elements of the project. Trump has repeatedly said donations, not taxpayer dollars, would pay for the ballroom.